Coming Out
by princessjasmine12
Summary: A three/four shot about how Aria and Ezra are going to break the news of their relationship to Aria's parents. Takes place right after 2x10.
1. Chapter 1

**I got so scared last night during the Ella and Aria scene. From Ella's reaction to Spencer and Ezra… she is going to FLIP OUT when she finds out about Aria and Ezra. **

**I didn't proofread this, so I apologize for any typos. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

Ezra's POV 

I took a good, long, look at myself in the mirror after screwing the cap back onto my tube of toothpaste. There were dark circles under my eyes, and my hair was a tousled mess.

I was so glad the day was finally over. After the exhausting day I had just endured, I could not wait to climb into bed, curl under my warm sheets, and fall into a peaceful sleep. The college fair had started out this morning as plain as can be, that is, until Aria exploded about Jackie. Why doesn't she believe me when I say that things are over between Jackie and I? Doesn't she trust me?

And Aria complaining about Jackie led to her accidentally spilling the fact that she kissed _Jason _ to me. I knew that there was something going on between them, yet I let myself believe her when she told me that I had nothing to worry about. How could she cheat on me? She told me she loved me.

I had to admit, that that had hurt. Hearing those words from her mouth, that she had kissed Jason, when _she _was the one who had been so headstrong about I being the one who was going to cheat. Yet, she still did.

I was still getting over the initial shock I had received when I found out that Aria's friends knew about us. They must have known for a while now, definitely back when we were teacher and student. I understand that she must have had to tell somebody, but I still felt a little bothered that she did not tell me that her friends knew about us.

Not long after, I found Aria. At Jason's house. In that moment, I realized that I was hurting her by being around Jackie, when Jackie did not know I was in a relationship. When we had that argument during the college fair, I could see in her eyes that she was really struggling with this. She did not want to hide anymore.

I had to admit, I was getting tired of it too. It would be such a relief to be able to walk into a coffee shop, holding Aria's hand, and grab a coffee or something and not be bothered. And the first step to doing that, was telling her parents. Before they heard about us from anyone else.

A soft knock on my apartment door whisked me out of my thoughts. I ran a hand through my hair as I watched myself in the mirror. Who could possibly be here at this time? It was eleven fifteen!

As I swung open the front door, I barely had any time to register what had happened or whom my mystery guest was, before a small body forced themself against me and tightly wrapped their arms around me, burying their head in the comfort of my chest.

I reached out to close the door before wrapping my arms around Aria's warm body. She was sobbing softly, causing her to shake against me.

"Shh." I cooed quietly, as I stroked my fingers through her hair.

It took a few moments, but eventually she managed to lift her head up from my chest, but remained looking down. I tightened my grip around her as she finally looked up at me. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. I wiped away another tear that had escaped her eyes onto her tearstained cheeks.

"My mom…" She sniffled. "Rumor… Spence… you… student… true…disappointed betrayed." She wailed.

I honestly had no idea what in the world she had just said or what she was talking about. A rumor about Aria's mom, Spencer, a student, and I, being true and someone was disappointed and betrayed?

I was beyond confused right now.

A few seconds later, she wiped her tear stained face with the sleeve of her shirt and took a deep breath.

"My mom saw…" She began. "You and Spence talking…" Aria paused. "She… said she heard rumors about you…"

My eyes widened at that statement. No rumors could possibly be good. It was only my first year at teaching for crying out loud!

"Dating a student…"

I nodded, waiting for her to continue. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"She asked me if you and Spence were dating…"

Really? Why would Ella think Spencer and I were dating? I rarely ever saw the girl outside of class.

"I said… I said no," She said a little louder, regaining her composure. "But I asked her what she would think if I said it were true… She said she would be disappointed and… betrayed… that you would use your power like that."

I was surprised, to say the least. Ella had always struck me as the understanding one. Earlier, I had been so sure about finally telling Ella and Byron about Aria and I. But after hearing this news, I honestly, wasn't so sure.

"Wait so… does she know about us?" I was confused. How long had Ella known this rumor? Did she believe it was true?

"I don't think so, or else she would have said my name, not Spencer's'!" She exclaimed in a frustrated manner, as I closed my eyes.

If this was how Ella felt about me dating on of my past students, telling her parents about us suddenly became the last thing on my To Do List.

How were we possibly going to tell Aria's parents about us if this was how they were going to react? And this was just Ella. I knew that Byron's reaction was going to be much, much, worse.

"How are we going to tell them?" She whispered, as more hot tears fell down her rosy cheeks.

I kissed her forehead gently and held her closer to me.

"Together." I said. We were going to tell them together. Aria had to know that she was not going to be alone in this. If she got in trouble for this relationship, then I had to too.

I led her back to my bedroom, before asking her whether she wanted to stay the night here or not.

She nodded, before answering, "I already told my mom I'm staying at Spencer's."

I sat down on the edge of my bed as I watched Aria slowly make her way over to the other side of the room where my dresser was. She opened up a drawer that I had kept all her clothes in for nights like these, before she pulled out one of my old Hollis T-Shirts.

"I can't believe your mom thinks I'm in a relationship with Spencer." I blurted out. "It's just so… unlikely."

She turned around to face me. "I couldn't believe it either. I thought right then and there she was going to say she knew about Mr. Fitz and me," She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "And instead she said Mr. Fitz and _ Spencer._"

"Spencer is the last person I could see dating one of her teachers. The very last." I commented. Spencer had always seemed like the kind of person who would never do anything against the rules.

"Change that thought. She wouldn't even be on the list." Aria gave me a small smile.

As my thoughts wandered back to Aria's parents, my mind begun to race. There were just so many possibilities of their reaction to my relationship with Aria. They could accept it and we would just move on with our lives as if nothing had changed, they could never let us see each other again and lose all faith and trust in me, or they could hurt Aria because of her mirroring actions of her father. I took a deep breath. There had to be a way to get them to understand that what Aria and I had was real.

"What if they don't let you see me again?" I suddenly asked, frightened. I do not know how I would be able to go day by day, knowing I was not allowed to see Aria. I shook my head, ridding my brain of the heartbreaking thought.

"They can't do that." She whispered as she walked back over to me and sat in my lap. I wrapped my arms around her and she nestled herself against my chest. I pressed a kiss into her hair, inhaling the delicious scent of her shampoo.

"They're your parents Aria. They can do whatever they want because you're not eighteen yet." I said reluctantly. It was true. If Aria's parents told her that we were not allowed to see each other anymore, then there was nothing I could do about that. We, if possible, would end up going back to a hidden relationship, just when we were starting to fully go public. It was two steps forward, but two steps right back.

"We just need to figure out a way for them to accept us, despite our previous circumstances." I mumbled against her silky hair.

"Do we… tell them that we were together while I worked at Rosewood?"

She shifted in my lap so she could look up. My eyes met her frightened big brown eyes.

"My dad was in a relationship with one of his students, remember? My mom will never forgive me for making the same mistake as my dad!" Her eyes begun to water again as those painful memories came back to her.

I hugged her tighter against me, wishing that all this could be over. I hated seeing her in so much pain. I knew that she was eager to tell her parents about us from our conversation in front of Jason's house, but after this conversation with her mother, she seemed to back down on the whole plan as well.

As much as I did not want to tell them, I knew we had to. Before anyone else did.

"This is not a mistake, Aria!" I tried to convince her. "Don't compare your dad's mistakes to yours. Your father cheated on your mom with a student. You are not cheating on anybody."

I had to say that. Even though she admitted she had kissed Jason, I knew that she still loved me. And hopefully, her love for me crushed the amount of lov- actually, change that thought. What she has for Jason is far from love. She barely knows the guy! The love she has for me hopefully is able to crush the amount of infatuation she has towards Jason… or else this bombshell towards her parents would not be worth enduring.

"Ezra, you know I love you, right?" She whispered to me as she looked up to me with glassy eyes.

I nodded. I knew she loved me.

"I'm… I'm sorry I kissed Jason." She looked down. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Tears began falling down her face once more, although she turned away in an attempt to try to hide them from me.

I placed two fingers against her chin and moved her head slightly, forcing her to look me in the eyes.

"I forgive you… as long as it doesn't happen again."

She nodded fiercely at this.

"I also need you to promise to believe me when I say that I don't have feelings for Jackie anymore. We can't move forward if you are unable to trust me about that." I told her.

She looked down and started playing with ends of her hair, as if she was checking for split ends.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I do… I just don't trust her. That she won't make a move on you. She doesn't know you're in a relationship, remember?" She hinted, making me remember our talk earlier that day at Rosewood High.

"Well…" I sighed. "Once we tell your parents, we can start telling everyone else."

She settled back against my chest and the pace of her breathing began to slow.

We stayed there for a few moments, just resting against one another, before Aria let out a huge yawn.

"Time for bed?" I chuckled as she twisted herself in my arms to face me.

"I guess." She mumbled, before she crashed her lips to mine. I pulled her body closer to me, if that was even possible, as she tangled her fingers in my hair. Her tongue grazed my lower lip as I opened my mouth, eagerly giving hers entrance. Our tongues fought in a passionate battle for dominance, as she crushed her petite body against mine.

How could I have this taken away from me? The sparks that erupted in us whenever Aria and I kissed, is nothing I would ever experience with anyone else. Because Aria and I were meant to be together. We already managed to keep a student teacher relationship, and we had been through everything life could possibly throw at us and more. There was no way that her parents' opinion on our relationship was going to be the thing to tear us apart. I cannot lose her. The reason I wake up every morning is to see her beautiful face. The reason I risked everything for a relationship with her while I was her teacher was because I loved her. I really truly loved this woman. And there was no one, no one, who was going to be able to tear that love apart.

**I can either leave this a three/four shot, or I can make it into a story. If I were to do that, it would end up being about Aria and Ezra trying not to let her parents find out the truth about them. But there are already a few stories out like that, so I'm not so sure how I feel about making this into a story. At the moment, I think I'm going to keep it a three/four shot. Let me know what you guys think though, and please leave a review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I think I'm going to make it a short story, around five to eight chapters? Maybe ten? We'll see what happens. Each chapter will be someone else finding out about their relationship. Does Jackie know about Aria and Ezra? I feel like she does, I mean she saw Ezra touching Aria's thigh in 2x05 and she always see's them together. **

**Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I honestly wasn't expecting this large of a response to this! : EzriaAddicted, Lalala17, Anonymous, StarWriter101, PrettyLittleBethany, Nightmares,and,dreamers, HarrylovesGinny09, PrincessBuffy, bite-me-im-irish, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, Violin27, Jellybean324, Tay, Msbookworm93, and Pretty,glee,liars …. You all are amazing! **

Ezra's POV 

"I don't know what's going on with him. He won't leave his room and he won't talk to anybody." Aria said sadly.

I just shook my head. What was going on with Mike? He had always seemed like a great kid, before whatever has been happening lately started.

"He could be working with A for all I know." I barely heard Aria whisper the words to herself.

"What?" I asked. Who was A and what in the world was she talking about?

"N-nothing." She quickly said, waving her hand in the air as a signal for me to dismiss the thought.

"But what should I do? Ezra, he has broken into houses, and he's shut himself out from the rest of the world. Every time I see him he's on his laptop and then when he realizes that I'm in the room, he quickly closes it. He has something on there that he doesn't want anyone else to see." She ran her fingers through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"He won't talk to you?" I asked, as I took her hands in mine. I scooted closer to her, causing our legs to touch.

"Nobody." She sighed, looking down at our intertwined fingers. "My mom wants him to start meeting with the therapist I talked to a few weeks ago… But I doubt he'll actually agree to it."

We both remained silent for a few moments.

"Aria, do you think we should wait a little bit longer to tell your parents about us?" I asked as I started playing with her fingers. From what she was describing to me, her family was having a tough time right now. I would feel really guilty knowing that I was the reason more stress was placed on her family.

"I don't know, Ezra…. I'm scared. What if it's too much for them and my mom moves out again? I don't want to be the reason my parents split up again!"

"No, Aria. I would be the reason, not you. Don't blame yourself for things that you have no control over." I tried to get her to realize that this was not her fault.

"Ezra, what did you not understand about what I said last night? My mom is going to freak out when she finds out about us! And Mike is already creating problems. Do they really need both children creating stress on the family?" She cried.

I had to admit, she had a really good point. I shook my head.

"Maybe it would have been better if we had come out to them earlier…" I pondered. "Like before the dinner party that you guys had not long ago."

Aria shook her head. "That's when this stuff with Mike started? Remember?"

I nodded. Yeah I remembered.

"Maybe it's just not the right time." I said quietly.

"Ezra, but think about how much easier this will be, knowing that my parents know about us. We could actually go out in public without caring whether anyone we knew saw us. I could tell my parents that I'm going to your place when I come over to your apartment, instead of telling them that I'm going to Spencer's. How great will that be?" A smile begun to creep up on her face as she spoke, imagining all of the scenarios she described.

"But Aria, we need to face the reality, that there's a chance that they won't accept our relationship." I said, hinting at the conversation Aria had had with Ella the previous night.

"They have to eventually. Even if they don't at first, I'm sure they'll come around." She tried convincing herself.

"How do you want to tell them?" I asked.

"I think… it's better if it's just me."

"Aria, are you serious? There is no way I'm going to let you do this alone. This is both of our secret and we have to tell them together."

She opened her mouth to speak again but was interrupted by my office door flinging open.

"Hey Z, I ne-" Jackie's voice rang throughout the small office. Aria and I quickly jumped away from each other, sitting on opposite sides of the couch.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Jackie said, taking a step towards Aria and I.

Aria and I both stood up from the couch at the same time. I glanced at her and she had an annoyed look on her face. Honestly, I could not blame her because I felt the same way.

"I'd better go." She said to me.

"Kay." I nodded.

Aria gave me a small wave as she walked out of the office, leaving Jackie alone with me.

"I just wanted to drop these papers off to you." Jackie handed me the stack of papers that was in her hand.

"Thanks." I gave her a small smile, hinting at her to leave.

She smiled at me as she started walking towards the door.

I picked up a book that was on my desk and walked over to the bookshelf to put it back in place.

Suddenly, Jackie stopped completely and turned back towards me.

"Ezra, can I ask you something?" She said, finally addressing me by my real name.

I turned around to see Jackie watching me. I tried to decipher what she was thinking by the look on her face, but I couldn't.

"Why are you always hanging around her?" Jackie asked me as she took a step closer to where I was standing.

I immediately knew that she was talking about Aria.

"Who?" I asked, pretending I had no idea who she was talking about.

"Aria Montgomery. You two are always together." She said quietly.

I remained silent, scared that she knew about Aria and I. But how would she? Aria and I had never done anything in front of her, as I far as I could remember.

"Can I ask, what is going on here? Every time I see Aria, she's with you." She repeated. "Is there a reason for that?"

I continued being silent, pretending I did not hear her.

"Come on, Z. Talk to me. You used to tell me everything." She took my hands in hers, but I immediately pulled mine away.

"Jackie, we're over. What do you not understand about that?"

Why is she messing with me like this? She was the one who broke up with me in the first place. Why couldn't she just leave me alone? She ruined my happiness with her when she broke off our engagement over a year ago, and now that she's ready to be in a relationship with me, she thinks that I am just going to come crawling right back to her?

"What do you want, Jackie?" I asked, looking her in the eyes with a completely serious look on my face.

"I want to know if we have a chance again. I miss you, Ezra." She moved even closer to me and caressed my cheek.

I immediately moved away. Just because Aria had feelings for Jason that she could not control, that most certainly did not mean that I had any feelings left for Jackie.

"Well we don't." I grabbed her hands and pinned them down to her sides. She looked at me with an expression of hurt and sadness.

"So you're actually dating a teenager? Really, Ezra? I thought you were better than that." Her expression immediately hardened.

Well that answered my previous question: she definitely knew about Aria and I.

"What makes you think that?" I asked curiously, turning back to the bookshelf again so I wouldn't have to face her. I pretended to be scanning through the titles as I ran my fingers along the spines of the books.

"I've seen you two together multiple times. It's not that hard to figure out."

I suddenly stopped moving my fingers along the books. I remained silent, taking all this information in. If Jackie had found out our secret, then there was no doubt that anyone else could have.

Jackie must have noticed my hesitation and uneasiness even though she could not see my face. "Have you ever wondered how Byron Montgomery will feel, knowing that you're dating his daughter?"

"Jackie, leave it alone." I said quietly as I finally turned around to meet her gaze.

"So he doesn't know." She said smugly as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Leave it _ alone." _I said again, my voice stronger and louder now.

"Whatever, Ezra. Good luck with that." She rolled her eyes at me as she walked out of the room.

I let out a huge breath I had not realized that I had been holding. I sat back down on the couch and put my head in my hands. In a way, what Jackie had said was right. At that moment, Byron Montgomery saw me as a good family friend. He had invited me over a few times and sometimes he would stop by my office for a friendly chat just to see how I was doing. He was great man, there was no doubt about that, but there was no way that he would still think of me the same after he found out I was dating his daughter.

I shook my head. How did I manage to get myself into this situation? Dating a teenager. Falling in love with a teenager. It was one thing if Aria did not have any feelings for me back, but she did.

I took a deep breath. We _ definitely _ could wait a little bit longer before telling Aria's parents.

Aria's POV 

I looked at the nameplate in front of me on the wall to the right of the door. _Jackie Molina._ Ezra had called me earlier and told me about his little encounter with Jackie after I had left his office. I wanted to go in there and beat the shit out of her, but I knew that doing that would not end well for either of us.

I walked into the room and closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath before turning around to face Jackie. There she was, sitting at her desk with a confused look on her face. I do not know how I controlled myself by not walking over to her and slapping that look right off her face.

I walked over to the desk and clenched the edge of the desk in my hands.

"Leave. Ezra. Alone." I snarled. "He doesn't want you anymore."

"You know you're just temporary. You think he loves you but he doesn't." She said, catching on to my "game" immediately.

"And how would you know? You don't know me."

"Because you're like fourteen. He can't love a teenager." She said, as if she were talking to a five year old.

"I'm sixteen. And yeah, but if I was twenty and he were twenty six, then he could love me? Right?" I exploded, clenching the edge of the desk harder in my hands.

"But you're not. So stop trying to fool yourself." She looked back down at the notebook on her desk and picked up her pencil again.

"You know he's just going to come back to me eventually. He loved me first. There will always be a place in his heart for me."

"You know what, Jackie? That statement just proved that you're more immature than me." I looked at her in disbelief. "And for the record, he forgot about you a _ long _time ago."

She looked at me with an expression of pure hate all over her face.

"Stay the hell away from Ezra." I scowled at her as I turned towards the door.

I took one last look at Jackie before walking out of the room. She was staring straight ahead of her with an extremely angry look on her face. The pencil that had been in her hand was now broken into two pieces.

**Again, does Jackie even know about their relationship at this point? Hope you guys liked this and PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you soooo much for your reviews: black lace and broken hearts, SolitudeMyLove, Television Lover, Bella1985, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, Shirley loves doctor who, Violin27, StarWriter101, nightmares,and,dreamers, PrettyLittleBethany, HarrylovesGinny09, EzriaAddicted, Bite-Me-Im-Irish, EzriaLoVeforever12, and lalala17. You all are so amazing and so sweet! Hope you like this chapter! **

We walked into the coffee shop hand in hand. Rays of light danced across the tabletops, caused by the light strewn through the large windows. On instinct, Aria and I immediately looked around the room for any familiar faces. My heart stopped beating as I saw Lily and Andrea, two girls from my old third period English class. Thankfully, they didn't notice Aria or I.

I tried my best to ignore them as I led Aria to a table near the corner of the room. It was not completely hidden, yet it was not in the middle of the room where everyone could see us.

"This isn't awkward or anything." She whispered to me as she sat down. Her phone chimed loudly a moment later, indicating a new text.

"What would you like?" I asked her as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Aria?" I asked again a moment later when she didn't answer me. She stared at her phone as if it were about to start speaking and tell everyone her darkest secret. The look of fear was quickly replaced by a nervous smile when she realized I was watching her.

"Um, vanilla latte please." She looked up from her phone and smiled at me.

I pulled my wallet out of my pocket as I started walking towards the others side of the small coffee shop. I did not know what had just happened, but whatever message she had just received, had scared her immensely.

"Hey, Mr. Fitz!" Lily flashed me a huge smile as I passed her table. Obviously the girl had a crush on me.

"Hey girls. How are you?"

"We're great!" Andrea's face lit up as she talked to me.

I glanced at Aria who had clearly realized the same thing I had. She was glaring at Lily and Andrea with a look that could burn someone to the ground. I was surprised that the two girls did not burst into flames right then and there.

"How's Hollis?" Lily asked me.

I glanced at Aria who was still glaring at the two girls. Knowing Aria, she was probably using every ounce of self-restraint that she had to stop herself from walking over here and kissing me, just to make Lily and Andrea realize that I was unavailable.

"It's great." I smiled.

"I bet you miss us though…" Lily said, as she gave me a flirtatious smile.

"Um," I began, but a tap on my shoulder interrupted me.

"Can you like, leave him alone? He came here to get a cup of coffee. Not to talk to you." Aria snapped at the two girls.

"And what makes you think he'd rather talk to you instead?" Andrea asked in a snotty voice. I had to stop myself from laughing at her statement. Oh, the irony.

Aria looked at her in disbelief. "Everything." Aria answered, looking at Andrea like she had lost her mind.

I watched the two girls quarrel over me. Who knew that this is what Aria and I going out in public would turn out to be.

"You know what, let's just get our coffee and go." Aria sighed, as she turned away from the girls.

"Hey, Aria! What are you doing with Mr. Fitz anyway?" Lily piped up, looking at Aria and I curiously.

"Grabbing a coffee. Do you have a problem with that?" Aria snapped.

I so desperately wanted to just grab Aria's hand and lead her away from these girls. I knew that they were just messing with Aria and she was needlessly stressing herself out about it.

So I decided to do just that.

"Come on." I said quietly, as I put a hand on Aria's back and led her over to the cash register so we could order our coffees.

"Aria's mom is friends with Mr. Fitz." I overheard Lily say to Andrea, before taking a sip of her coffee. She continued watching Aria and I as we placed our order. "That's probably why they are together."

"Yeah but I heard Mr. Fitz was having a relationship with one of his students." Andrea said as she stole a glance at us.

As Aria and I waited for our coffees, I noticed Andrea and Lily staring at Aria and I. I couldn't help but notice Aria's discomfort after our previous affair with the two girls.

"Just ignore them." I said to her quietly.

She groaned in annoyance.

"Really?" I heard Lily ask, completely intrigued by the topic of me dating one of my students.

"And that it's been going on since the very beginning of school." Andrea said in a hushed voice.

"Aria was Mr. Fitz' student." Lily said.

Andrea said nothing, as she waited for her friend to connect the dots.

"No!" Lily gasped. "You think- Mr. Fitz and Aria Montgomery?"

I tensed up immediately as soon as those words escaped Lily's mouth. Then again, Rosewood was a small town. The city was always in need of some new juicy gossip to occupy their minds with.

Andrea nodded her head as she glanced at Aria and I again.

"Why else do you think he's being so protective of her? Look at the way he has his arm around her!" Andrea pointed to Aria and I from the other side of the shop.

I felt Aria's body tense up against me as she listened in on Lily and Andrea's conversation.

Aria stayed quiet beside me, but kept sneaking glances at Lily and Andrea.

"Something is definitely up with them." Lily agreed.

I grabbed our coffees but right as I was about to hand Aria hers, I realized she was gone.

I looked around the shop to see her standing at Lily and Andrea's table with her hands on her hips.

"You shouldn't believe all the rumors you hear." I heard Aria say as she rolled her eyes at the two girls.

"And you shouldn't date your teachers." Lily snapped back.

Whoa. That was one step too far. There was no way that Lily was going to get away with talking to my girlfriend like that.

"Leave Aria alone." I said fiercely to the girls as I handed Aria her coffee.

"It's none of your business who I'm dating, and no, I'm not dating my teacher." Aria said swiftly, as she grabbed my hand and led me out of the small shop.

"What was that?" I asked, shocked as we entered the parking lot.

"I don't know." Aria shook her head. "They were just really getting on my nerves."

"Please, don't do that again. Just let people talk. Who cares what they say! They don't know the truth about us, so you can't expect people to not take our relationship the wrong way!"

"Ezra, did you not hear what they were saying?" She asked, hurt written all over her face.

"Aria," I pleaded. "It doesn't matter! You can't let them get to you!"

"How do I _not _let something like that bother me?" She fired back.

"You know what Aria? I don't know what you want from me anymore! We knew that this would be hard! But when have we ever cared what people think about our relationship?"

"We haven't because we never had to deal with it until now!"

I opened my mouth to speak again but Aria cut me off.

"Did you not hear Lily and Andrea while you were paying for these? They called me the slut who's sleeping with her teacher! Lily said I'm with you because I can't get anyone else!" She cried as tears started pouring down her face.

I immediately took her in my arms, holding her tightly against me.

"You know that's not true, so why are you letting it get to you? Don't let that bother you. They're probably just jealous." I whispered into her hair.

"Yeah that's why they were flirting with you in public." She sniffed.

"Do you want to go back in there and show them the truth?" I asked her.

She lifted her head from my chest, her eyes questioning my motives.

"Rip the band aid off quickly. The rumors will end because they'll know the truth that we're together. And pretty soon, something new will pop up and the town will not even take a second look at us when they see us together."

At least that's what I hoped was going to happen.

"Do you actually believe that?" She raised her eyebrows at me before wiping her wet eyes with her sleeve.

"It's Rosewood." I shrugged. "Who knows what to believe."

I kissed her forehead and held her in my arms for a moment longer.

"Are you ready for this?" She asked me as she took my hand in hers.

"As long as you are." I smiled at her.

We walked back into the coffee shop hand in hand. I looked over at Aria to see her watching me with a big smile on her face. I had to admit, this was an exciting moment for both of us. Of course, it would be hard afterwards since people were definitely going to talk, but the town had to accept our relationship soon enough, right?

I led Aria to the counter that held the cream and sugar and I poured some cream into my coffee, pretending that forgotten cream was the reason I walked back into the coffee shop. I glanced over at the table where Lily and Andrea were sitting to see them watching us again.

I shook my head as I tried to hold back a laugh. It was pathetic how much some teenagers really needed to grow up.

"What's funny?" Aria asked, before taking a sip of her coffee.

I let out a quiet chuckle again as I shook my head. "Nothing."

I saw Aria glance over at Lily and Andrea. They were still watching us. Didn't they have anything better to do?

"Should we give them what they want?" Aria asked me quietly as she set her coffee down on the nearest table.

Before I could reply, Aria had snaked her arms around me and pulled me in for a gentle kiss. As we pulled away from each other moments later, I could hear Lily and Andrea whispering to each other at one hundred miles a minute.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" I winked at Aria as she picked her coffee back up.

I took her hand in mine and we walked out of the coffee shop together.

"By this time tomorrow, the whole town will know that we're together." She said nonchalantly as if it was no big deal that a student and her ex-teacher just kissed in the middle of a public coffee shop.

"And by this time next week, there will be some other juicy gossip flying around the town." I reminded her.

"Thanks, Ezra." She smiled at me.

"For what?" I laughed.

"For keeping me sane and not letting me explode in there."

"Anything for you, Aria."

**I'll try and update tomorrow! Hope you guys liked it and pretty please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much: SolitudeMyLove, HarrylovesGinny09, nightmares,and,dreamers, EZRIALoVeforever12, violin27, PrettyLittleBethany, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, EzriaAddicted, Bite-Me-I'm-Irish, StarWriter101, and Pretty,glee,liars! Love you all! **

**I know the comments the students say in this chapter are really rude, but I had to make them like that for the rest of the chapter to work. **

"Hey guys," I smiled as I walked over to Emily's locker where Spencer, Hanna, and Emily were all talking. They were huddled over each other's phones looking at something on them.

"Aria…" Spencer said cautiously. "Have you seen this?"

All the girls looked up from their phones at me, with fear written all over their faces.

"Seen what?" I asked, nonchalantly, as I reached for Emily's phone.

I gasped as soon as I realized what the picture on the screen in front of me was of. In bright colors, was a picture of Ezra and I kissing in the coffee shop from the previous day. My arms were wrapped around his neck and Ezra's hands were resting at my waist. And it was extremely obvious who the two people were.

"How the hell did you get this?" My breathing suddenly became ragged and I started to feel dizzy.

Exactly how Emily got the picture suddenly struck me. It was from A. I was wearing the same black tank top in the picture that I had been wearing the day before. The person who took this picture was in the coffee shop with Ezra and I yesterday. A was there, in the same room as me, and I was completely oblivious to that fact at the time. If only I had paid a bit more attention and looked around the room, I could have figured out who A is!

"A sent me a text yesterday while I was with Ezra while we were there. It said…" I told the girls as I pulled my phone out of my purse and opened up the text.

"Watch what you do in public… it may be more public than you think. –A" I recited to the girls with a groan.

"Well A took a picture of the two of you and decided to send it to everyone in the school." Emily said, holding up her phone displaying the picture.

"What?" I gasped, as my heart skipped a beat. The whole school now knew about Ezra and I?

A group of girls passed by us and pointed to me. "Yeah! That's her! She's dating Mr. Fitz!"

I felt my eyes welling up with tears as more and more students started crowding around Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and I, and continued making comments about me.

"There she is! That dirty little slut!" A boy in my Math class laughed as he walked by us.

"I wonder how many other teachers she's hooked up with!" A blonde girl from my Chemistry class exclaimed at me. I stumbled backwards, away from the crowd.

"If Mr. Fitz likes younger girls, I wonder if he'll hook up with me!" One of the girls commented.

"Don't you girls have something better to do than pick on people who are better than you?" Spencer unexpectedly snapped towards them all as she stood in front of me, covering me from their view.

My phone suddenly started ringing. Hanna, Spencer, and Emily, all watched me as I looked at the Caller ID: Ezra.

"Hello?" I said quietly into the phone, trying to hide the fact that I was crying.

"Aria, do you want to stop- wait, is everything okay?" Ezra asked, somehow realizing that I was crying.

"Ezra." I whispered, as tears continued falling down my face. "I-"

Spencer grabbed the phone from my hands and started talking to Ezra.

"Remember when you two kissed last night at the coffee shop?" Spencer said, not giving anyone time to fool around. "Aria told me about it, but that's not the point. Someone took a picture of the two of you and sent it around the school."

I grabbed the phone from her hands after she said this. I knew that Ezra was going to flip out. We had planned on taking baby steps and letting a few people find out about our relationship at a time. We most certainly did not want everyone in Rosewood to find out all at once! I did not know if either Ezra or I could handle that amount of gossip about us at the same time.

"My mom is definitely going to know about us by the end of the day. I'm so sorry, Ezra." I whispered, cupping the phone in my hand against my tear-stained cheek.

"She works here! She might know within the hour!" Hanna corrected me, as she threw her hands up in the air.

I shot her a glare.

"Sorry." She said quickly, looking down at the ground.

"They're talking Ezra. They're all talking." I whispered into the phone, as I looked around the hallway at all the students who were watching me.

"I bet she's talking to her _teacher _ right now!" I heard a random girl exclaim as she passed by us.

"Do you think they've done it?" Her friend asked, giggling as the pair continued walking past us.

"It's Mr. Fitz! They probably couldn't wait to get in each others' pants!" The first girl laughed.

"Did I just hear that right?" Ezra cried from the other end of the phone. "Aria, I-"

"Ezra I can't do this." I whispered, interrupting him. "I mean, I've been talked about before, but never like this!"

"Want me to come pick you up?" Ezra asked sincerely, as I heard him shuffle some papers around on his desk in his office.

"Come on, get in here." Hanna led me into an empty classroom and Emily closed the door behind us.

"Did my English teacher actually just ask me if I wanted to skip school?" I chuckled into the phone as I leaned against the corner of one of the desks in the front row.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Ezra asked hopefully.

"Definitely. I need to get out of here." I sighed, looking around the room. It then struck me that this was Ezra's old classroom. Which also happened to be my mom's new classroom.

"I'll be there soon. Just hang on." Ezra replied.

"Bye." I hung up the phone and looked up at the girls.

"Why does this have to be so hard?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Why can't A just leave me alone and let Ezra and I come out to Rosewood in our own way?"

"Come on, Aria. It's A. They want to do whatever they can to ruin our lives." Spencer said as she started rubbing my back soothingly.

"It's like, just as soon as things were finally working out for the better for Ezra and I, A had to go screw it all up." I said angrily.

My phone chimed a moment later. I picked it up from the desk next to me to find a new text from Ezra.

_E: Where are you?_

I quickly responded, telling him that I was in his old classroom.

I closed my eyes, so thankful that Ezra was here. I was going to get out of this awful place and the nightmare of this day was finally going to be over.

"Aria," Emily said cautiously, causing me to open my eyes again. "Did you tell Ezra to come to this classroom?"

I nodded, not understanding what the problem was.

"All of the students are going to see him walking down the hall! What if they say something?" Emily cried.

Before I could comprehend this, Spencer had dashed out of the room.

"Where the hell did she just go?" Hanna cried.

I shook my head. With Spencer, you never knew what that girl was up to.

"Is she okay?" I heard Ezra's voice ask as he appeared in the doorway a moment later, with Spencer beside him.

I jumped up from the desk and ran into his arms. He immediately wrapped his arms around me, holding me close against his chest, as he buried his face in my hair. I closed my eyes and inhaled the delicious scent of his cologne. I knew everything was going to be okay. I was here, safe in Ezra's arms. No one anyone said about us was going to change the way I felt about Ezra and these students were most certainly _not _ going to tear us apart, no matter how much they did not like our relationship.

"I'll be right back." Ezra whispered to me, releasing me from his embrace.

I took a step back, to see Spencer glaring at the door with her hands on her hips. There was a crowd of students standing outside the door, watching us from the little window.

Ezra gave me a small smile, before leaving the room. He closed the door behind him, and I could see all the students who had been standing in front of the door were now fearfully looking at Ezra. Spencer came over to me and started rubbing my back, while Emily gave me a comforting hug. Hanna grabbed Emily's phone and started looking at the picture of Ezra and I again.

At that moment, I was secretly so thankful that Ezra used to be my teacher. I knew that if he had not been, absolutely no one would have listened to whatever he was saying out there.

The door suddenly banged open and to my complete surprise, Ella walked in.

"Mom." I whispered, looking up from Emily's shoulder as tears streamed down my face. Spencer continued rubbing my back soothingly, while Hanna kept studying the picture of Ezra and I on her phone. Emily was in just as much shock as I was.

By the look on Ella's face, clearly she knew about the text that had gone around.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?"

"Her mom caught her!" I heard a voice exclaimed, pointing to me, as they walked past the classroom.

Ella sighed as she walked back over to the door.

"Could you excuse us?" She asked the girls, gesturing for Hanna, Spencer, and Emily to leave.

Hanna, Spencer, and Emily shot me sympathetic glances as they quickly shuffled out of the room.

"Aria, what's going on here?" She asked me. I clutched my phone tightly in my hand, deathly afraid of what Ella was about to say to me.

Suddenly, the door opened again and Ezra walked in.

"Aria, I-" Ezra froze in place as soon as he realized that we were no longer alone.

I leaned against the desk nearest to me as tears continued falling down my face.

"I'm so sorry, Ezra." I whispered. There was no point in calling him Mr. Fitz anymore. My mom had obviously seen the picture of Ezra and I, meaning she knew about us completely.

"So it's true." Ella said, emotionlessly, as she watched Ezra intently.

"What's true?" Ezra asked, his eyes wide. I closed my eyes, letting more tears spill down my face, as I waited for the moment I knew was coming.

"That you're dating a student?" She paused for what seemed like forever. She continued when neither Ezra nor I responded. "And said student just so happens to by my daughter?" Ella asked him, as she pursed her lips together.

Ezra's face completely drained of color as he turned to me with a panic struck look on his face. I looked down, too ashamed at myself to meet his eyes. This was my entire fault. If I had not been so pushy about wanting other people to know about my relationship with Ezra, we never would have gone to that coffee shop yesterday, A never would have taken that picture, and my mom would not have figured out about us like this!

"Yeah." I whispered. "It's true." I bit my lip as I looked up at my mom with glassy eyes. Her fingers were clenched into fists at her waist, her face was slightly red, and she had so much hate reflected in her eyes, that it hurt me to look into them.

She was furious, to say the least.

**Cliffhanger, sorry! The next chapter will have her whole reaction… plus some other things :) Hope you guys liked this chapter, and PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**I didn't really like writing this chapter because in every story, there's only a few ways it can go: Ella knew about the relationship, but kept it a secret that she knew, and she eventually came to accept Aria and Ezra, OR she had no idea, she gets pissed, and Aria gets kicked out or something, but eventually Ella accepts Aria and Ezra's relationship, OR she needs time to think about it, she is mad at first, but learns to accept it, OR in one story I've read, Ella and Byron call the police on Ezra (in that story he was still her teacher). MORAL OF NOTE: Sorry that this chapter is so repetitive and so alike every other Ezria story out there when Aria's parents find out, because in the end, either Ella and Byron accept the relationship, or they don't. There isn't really an in between and when Ella and Byron don't they eventually end up accepting it. So… here is my attempt at trying to be different than every other Ezria story… but I don't think it worked haha. **

**I tried to make this as realistic as possible (a mothers' reaction to her daughter dating her teacher). I understand that Aria and Ella have a very strong mother daughter bond, but seriously, Aria's dating her ex-teacher, her mom's ex-colleague, her dad's current colleague, and a MAN who's about seven years older than her. Could Ezra and Aria have possibly gotten them into a more screwed up situation? Seriously. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

Ezra's POV 

Ella knew about Aria and I. It was done. And by the look of anger on her face, she certainly was not happy about this.

I snuck a glance at Aria. Her eyes were red from crying and her cheeks were tear-stained. I wanted so badly just to take her in my arms and tell her that everything would be okay. To run my fingers through her silky hair as she cried against my chest, staining my blue button down shirt with her salty tears. It broke my heart to see her in such a broken state, and not be able to do anything about it.

Ella's POV

I couldn't believe this. It was true. My daughter was dating Ezra Fitz. The man who used to be her teacher. She couldn't find anyone else to date? Of all the boys in the world, she had to choose a man?

While she sat in his class every day, instead of focusing on his lectures, was she imagining what it would be like to date him? Kiss him? Lo- no. Aria did not love him. She was only sixteen. She did not even know what love was.

As I looked back and forth between the two, I could tell that Aria and Ezra were both scared out of their minds that I knew about them.

Ezra's eyes were wide, and fear and discomfort was portrayed all over his face. Aria's eyes were red and puffy from crying and she looked very disappointed in herself. Aria and Ezra kept sneaking glances at each other. I could see it in Ezra's eyes that he was fighting with himself on whether he should comfort Aria or not.

He didn't.

He was a wise man by making that choice.

"Ezra." I addressed him. He immediately turned to look at me as he tried to hide all the emotions he was feeling. "You know that I have the power to call the police and put you in jail, right?"

Ezra looked at me with fearful eyes.

"No, you can't." Aria snapped at me. "He's not my teacher. I'm sixteen. Our relationship is completely legal."

"He was your teacher. That's not right of him to abuse his power over you like that."

"Why would you make assumptions like that when you clearly don't know the whole story?" Aria asked me angrily.

Yeah, I didn't know the whole story, but how much of a story could it be? Ezra and Aria met at school, they couldn't fight their lust and infatuation towards each other, so they secretly decided to pursue a relationship with each other? There were so many boys in this school and Aria had to go after her English teacher? Because he was young and single?

"Your teacher, Aria? You couldn't go for anyone else in the world?" I asked her.

"No. I couldn't, because I don't want anyone else in the world!" She exclaimed.

I shook my head at her. He really fooled her good.

Did Aria actually think that they had a chance together? Especially in this town? Everyone would know Ezra as the pedophile who took advantage of his student and Aria would be known as the naïve girl who fell for his act.

I let out a loud gasp as all of the pieces suddenly fit into place. Ezra left Rosewood High School so he could legally have a relationship with Aria.

"When did this start?" I asked slowly.

Ezra and Aria shared a panicked glance.

"After Ezra left." Aria quickly said.

However, at the exact same time, Ezra said, "Before school started."

I looked at the two of them in disbelief. One of them was lying. And I had a very strong feeling that I knew which one it was.

"Ezra, when did this start?" I asked again. The look of terror on Ezra's face confirmed that he knew better than to lie to me.

"Before school." He repeated.

"So this has been going on for months now?" I raised my eyebrows at the two of them.

They both nodded, not lifting their gazes from the floor, as if they were two little kids who had just been caught sticking their hands in the cookie jar before dinner. Except… what Aria and Ezra had been caught in was so much worse.

I could not believe this. Ezra had been dating Aria for months now. All the times I spoke to him about Aria, he had to make sure he did not accidentally let anything slip about him and Aria. That's why when we first met, he was always so nervous to be around me.

"You… You were always so eager to earn our approval." I said slowly, as everything began to sink in. "And Aria defended you when Byron… When Byron didn't think you were the amazing person Aria always described you as."

I then turned to Aria. "You did that because you were dating him and you wanted us to like Ezra when it came time to introduce Ezra to us as your boyfriend…"

I put my hand over my mouth as I processed this information. I always thought that Aria had a crush on Ezra. The way she defended him and the way she spoke so highly about him at home, showed that she liked him a lot. Who would have known it was all because she was secretly in a relationship with him.

"How could you do something like this, Aria? After what your father did? He almost tore this family apart. Are you trying to do the same thing?" I shook my head. Would she have still engaged in this relationship if Byron had not?

Oh. My. God. Did Aria do this all because of Byron? Knowing that Byron got away with it, she thought that she could too?

The look of utter fear on Aria's face when I confronted her about Ezra being in a relationship with Spencer confirmed that the rumor was true and that she knew who the student was, even though Aria claimed that it was not Spencer.

Now I'm finally realizing why she looked so guilty and was so scared of me finding out. Because she was the student. And I basically told her that I would be ashamed and disappointed in both her and Ezra for pursuing this relationship.

How could I have missed it? All the signs that something was going on between my daughter and Ezra were there! When I first heard the rumors, I quickly disregarded them, because I never could imagine Ezra doing something like this. I never would have thought that my daughter would be the one everyone was talking about!

"How is me being with Ezra, tearing the family apart? I'm not hurting anyone by being with him! I'm not cheating on my family by being with him! If anything, I would be hurting both Ezra and I by _ not _being with him!" She exclaimed.

I shook my head. Why couldn't she see that she was? That she _ was _ hurting the family by doing this.

Do we really need another situation hurting our family and threatening to tear us apart? Mike was one thing, and Byron and my disagreement about what to do with him was another, but Aria dating Ezra? That was a whole tornado in itself.

"How could you do something like this?" I asked Ezra bitterly. "Date my daughter. Be intimate with my daughter!"

What had they done together? Oh God if they had sex I will kill him. Rest assured, I will kill him for forcing my daughter to have sex with him.

"Mom, stop!" Aria cried out.

"We befriended you! We trusted you! All to find out that you've been dating our daughter behind our backs?" I yelled at Ezra. "Aren't you old enough to know the difference between right and wrong?"

"It's not his fault!" Aria shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air as she tried to get my attention off of Ezra and back on her. "If anything, it's my fault!"

"No." Ezra said sternly to Aria. "It's my fault too. I let this happen between us when I knew that I shouldn't have."

"So what are you saying?" Aria spat out at him, as tears started falling down her face again. "That what we have is wrong? That it was a _ mistake _ being in a relationship with me?"

"I'm not saying that at all, Aria. But if one of us were to get in trouble, it has to be me." Ezra said to her.

"No!" She yelled again as she ran her fingers through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"No, Aria. He's right. Don't defend him. It is his fault. He was the teacher. He's the older one." I told her as I shook my head at Ezra.

"I'm the one who pushed us to stay together even after we found out the truth." Aria spat out. "Ezra, stop it." She snapped angrily at him. "It's my fault. If it weren't for me, we would not have stayed together and you know it."

"You're really going to take the blame for him?" I shook my head at her, watching her in disbelief.

"Yes, I am. Because I convinced him to stay with me even through he kept telling me that it was wrong." She said bitterly.

How did Aria get herself into this situation? Obviously there had to be a reason she was with Ezra, besides the fact that she wanted to be in a relationship with one of her teachers.

"Aria, why would you date Ezra, knowing he's your teacher?" I asked her quietly.

"He's not my teacher." Aria said to me through gritted teeth.

"He _was_ your teacher!" I spat out. "Yet you still continued this! He's just using you! He probably just wanted to hook up with as many high school girls as he could!" I yelled at Aria.

Aria looked at me with hate evident all over her eyes. "How could you say something like that about Ezra?" She whispered, as she defended him once again.

Where was Ezra in this? Why wasn't he speaking up?

"Because he's a teacher who had a relationship with his sixteen year old student!" I cried out.

Ezra and Aria remained silent at this.

"Aria, I'd like to speak to Ezra alone for a moment." I told her, hinting for her to leave the room.

Aria gave Ezra a fearful look before silently leaving the classroom. I waited until I heard the click of the door closing behind her before speaking again.

At that moment, Ezra looked scared out of his mind.

"Mrs. Montgomery," Ezra began. "I had no idea that Aria was my student when we first met each other. We found out the next day that I was her teacher and we broke off our relationship."

As he spoke, Ezra kept fiddling with the watch on his wrist. I also couldn't help but notice the glances he kept making towards the door. Towards Aria.

"You said that this started before school… How is that possible?" I asked him as I leaned against my desk in the front of the room. Ezra's old desk.

"We were at a pub, Aria was getting something to eat, and… we started talking about anything and everything." Ezra gave a small smile at the memory of that day.

"We kissed before… before we left." He told me uncomfortably. "Then we tried to break off our relationship with each other but we just couldn't stay away from each other. We just connect with each other so well. We understand each other on a level I can't even comprehend. I can't imagine my life without her."

As he spoke, I tried my hardest not to portray any of the emotions I was feeling. The way he spoke about Aria was like she was the light of his world. Like she meant everything to him. The way he spoke her name was with such a huge amount of admiration that I could not ignore, no matter how much I tried.

"I know that this seems wrong, but it's never felt wrong when we're together." He told me. "I love Aria, and I would never do anything to hurt her."

How was him being with Aria _not_ hurting her? No matter how many times she says that it was not. What girl would want to date someone who used to be her teacher? What girl would want to date someone who she would get talked about for being with? How can she not let the comments that the students were saying to her today get to her and hurt her? She could not go out in public with him without being talked about. Did he realize that his relationship with Aria was going to be the topic of the town?

"She's a teenager. She's barely lived her life. You were so eager to take her whole life away from her, just so that you could be with her?"

I looked at him in disbelief. I really expected more from this man. Ezra did not seem at all the type who would go after his students, let alone be stupid enough to get so close to them while he taught them that he would fall in love with them. Or so he claims.

I had always seen Ezra as a great man. He was kind, funny, he put others' needs before his own, and he was a real gentleman. It never would occur to me that he would do something illegal like this. That was the reason why when I first heard the rumor about Ezra dating a student, I did not believe it.

Would Ezra really sacrifice his career, his freedom, his _life _to be with Aria, if he did not actually love her?

And she was younger than him! How did he feel about himself, knowing that he was dating one of his high school students? How was he not disgusted with himself? I had to admit, Aria was very mature for her age and has been through much more than any sixteen year old should ever have to go through. One of her best friends was murdered, her father made her keep a secret about his affair with a student from me, her and her friends are always ending up on the front page of the Rosewood Observer, and she ended up falling for her teacher.

"She knew from the beginning, that if she wanted to get out of this relationship, that I would not stop her… no matter how much it hurts to let her go." He said quietly.

"Why did you guys keep this from me? When were you planning on telling Byron and I?"

"Soon. Very soon actually." He confessed. "Look, Mrs. Montgomery. I'm willing to take any punishment you want to give me. But I want you to believe me when I say that I never tried to hurt Aria."

I nodded at him, somewhat satisfied with his little speech.

"Ezra." I said sternly. "If you hurt my daughter in any way, I assure you, you will regret it."

The door banged open a second later, just as Ezra nodded in understanding. However, instead of Aria entering the room, to my surprise, it was the principal.

"Mrs. Montgomery, there's a picture of your daughter going around the school. I have not seen it, but Aria is being talked about. Are you aware of this?" He asked as he looked back and forth between Ezra and I.

"Yes, I am. And I can assure you, that I will be taking care of it."

The principal nodded, before leaving the room.

I turned to Ezra again. "I'm going to call Byron. He needs to know about this."

Ezra nodded, although the fear in his eyes was still clearly evident.

Aria came into the room a moment later and she immediately ran to Ezra.

"What happened?" She asked anxiously, as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I swear, mom, if you do anything to Ezra, I will never speak to you again. Not that there is anything you can do, because there's nothing wrong with our relationship… But still."

I did not answer, but instead watched Aria and Ezra as Aria threw her arms around his neck and he embraced her in his arms, as he held her tightly against him.

It pained me, seeing my daughter hugging her former teacher. A man I used to work with. But I knew that I had to admit, that based off of what they have told me about each other today, that they really did care about each other. My phone rang, interrupting the moment. I looked at the caller ID: Byron.

I took a deep breath before answering.

"Byron, come to the school. Now, please." I said, without letting him speak.

"Why, is something wrong?" He asked me in a worried voice.

"Yes. Something is very wrong." I said, before hanging up.

**So… I really liked this chapter and I hope you guys did too! I tried to portray Ella's emotions at least somewhat accurately to the show haha. Hope you guys liked it and PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I can't deal with stories where Byron punches Ezra or hurts Ezra when he finds out about Aria and Ezra's relationship, so that's not going to happen. I don't know how to explain it, but they just make me uncomfortable and I don't like it. So I'll opt for verbal abuse instead. This might be a little bit overboard (the ending) but seriously, Aria is Byron's little girl. Byron would want to do anything he can to protect her. Thank you so much for your reviews: Madiilovesyaa, msbookworm93, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, Foureverilmh, Violin27, SolitudeMyLove, Shaylin, PrettyLittleBethany, EzriaAddicted, Anonymous, Nightmares,and,dreamers, HarrylovesGinny09, Lalala17, bite-me-im-irish, EZRIALoVeforever12, StarWriter101, and Madje Knotts! **

**Hope you guys like this! **

Ezra's POV

As I leaned against one of the desks in the front row of the classroom, holding Aria in my arms, I realized that the next few moments were going to determine our future. Although Ella was not completely accepting of my relationship with Aria, at least she had listened to my side of the story. No matter what Ella said, I knew that the real person I needed to convince was Byron. If Byron did not accept my relationship with Aria, then there was the possibility that I would never get to see her again. I painfully took a deep breath, knowing that Byron had the power to do that. I do not know what I would do if I was never allowed to see Aria again. To hold her in my arms or kiss her soft lips.

"What's the emergency?" I heard a voice ask from the doorway.

I looked up to see Byron standing at the door to Ella's classroom, with his keys in his hand. As soon as he saw me holding his sobbing daughter in his arms, he immediately became confused.

"What's going on? Why is Aria crying?" He walked over to Ella, who was staring out the window, wrapped up in her own thoughts.

"Close the door." Ella commanded to Byron, as she finally turned away from the window to face us.

Byron did as he was told, but quickly walked back over to Aria and I.

"Ezra, what are you doing here?" He asked me.

As Aria buried her face deeper into my chest, I gently began stroking my fingers through her hair.

"Um," I began, looking up at Byron, unsure of how to answer his question.

"Ezra and Aria have something they need to tell you." Ella walked over to us and stood next to Byron, as she watched Aria and I intently.

Aria finally lifted her face up from my chest to look at her father. Her mascara had run, leaving black streaks on her cheeks, and her eyes were red from crying.

Byron's expression immediately softened as he saw the vulnerable state his daughter was in.

"Dad…" Aria whispered, as she looked up at her father. I loosened my grip on Aria so that she could remove herself from my embrace if she wanted to. I let my arms fall from around her as she took a step forward to her father.

I watched her as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak. "There's something… that I need to tell you."

Aria looked down and started examining her nails so that she would not have to meet Byron's gaze.

"I…" She began, as her eyes searched the room for anyone or anything that was not her father. As she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, I could tell how painful this was for her, since she was mirroring Byron's own actions by being in a relationship with me.

"I'm in love with Aria." I blurted out suddenly, to save Aria the pain of having to confess about our relationship.

"You're what?" Byron turned to me with a look daring me to repeat my statement in answer to his question.

Aria's eyes fearfully darted back and forth between Byron and I.

"I'm in love with Aria." I repeated softly, not tearing my gaze away from Byron. He narrowed his eyes at me as he processed this small, but vital, piece of information. His eyes widened as he connected the dots, finally realizing what I was saying and what that meant.

I finally cast a glance at Aria, who was watching me with such love and relief in her eyes that I had to remind myself that her parents were in the room in order to stop myself from getting up and kissing her.

Byron speechlessly turned towards Aria. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

"I'm in love with him too." Aria whispered as tears started brimming her eyes.

"It's not April 1st, is it? Because this is a really good joke." Byron asked angrily.

Aria and I both looked down towards the ground, not responding to his question.

I finally looked back up and watched Byron as his face started turning red in anger.

"Why would you force my daughter to be with you?" Byron asked quietly, his eyes blazing into mine.

I took a step backwards, a little taken aback. Why is it that people keep asking me if I am forcing Aria to be with me? Aria is the strongest woman I know, and she of all people knows how to defend herself and say no to unkind situations. If I was with any other girl, then I would understand the need to ask that question, but I'm not. It's Aria. Doesn't Byron know me better than that? Does he really think that I would _force _one of my students to be in a relationship with me?

I shook my head. Byron was right. He was a parent. He was just informed that his sixteen-year-old daughter was in a relationship with her twenty four year old ex-teacher. Of course this relationship would look forced.

"What did you to do my daughter?" He asked, his voice quickly rising. "How did you fool her like that? _Why _the hell would you do something like this?"

"Dad, stop! Can you let us explain?" Aria asked her father desperately.

"We trusted you! We befriended you! I got you the job at Hollis! All to find out that you've been screwing my daughter!" He raged at me.

"Dad!" Aria exclaimed again, clearly hurt by Byron's words.

"Mr. Montgomery," I began in a rush. "I-"

"Ezra Fitz, stay the hell away from my daughter. If you ever lay a finger on her again, I swear, I'll kill you!" Byron bellowed, cutting me off. "And you!" He turned towards Aria. "What the hell were you thinking? Are you crazy, being in a relationship with your teacher?" He screeched.

"You are such a hypocrite! You _ cannot _say that to me after what you did." Aria hissed at her father, as she looked at him in disgust.

"Aria, _ do not _talk to your father like that." Ella said sternly to Aria.

"No!" Aria exclaimed. "He can't say something like that to me! He did the _ same freaking thing! _And then he made me keep it a secret from you!_" _

It would be foolish of me to have thought that Byron's affair with his student was not going to be brought up. Of course Aria was going to throw that back into his face. I knew that what Aria and I had was so right, but I could not help but feel extremely guilty. I knew that the Montgomery family was going to have a really tough time dealing with this information. I also knew that Aria would never forgive her parents if they never let us see each other again. Hell, I would not forgive them. Obviously, my relationship with Aria seems so wrong, but there had to be _ something _I could do to make Byron and Ella realize how much I really cared for Aria. 

"How long has this been going on?" Byron finally asked.

"Since labor day." Ella spat out.

"So that means-" Byron started.

"Yep." Ella finished, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"If you two are waiting for me to say that I made a huge mistake and ruined my life, don't hold your breath, because it's not going to happen." Aria said to her parents. "I don't care what you say, I love Ezra, and he loves me. Nothing you say or do is going to change that."

Byron closed his eyes, as he tried to deal with this situation.

"I will send you to jail in a heartbeat. I want you to go away. Now. And don't come back." Byron shook his head at me.

"No!" Aria screamed.

"I can't do that to Aria." I replied quickly, without missing a beat.

Byron closed his eyes for a moment. "Then I guess we'll have to do the second best thing."

I watched him as he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number.

"911, what's your emergency?" I heard a voice on the other end ask.

My heart stopped beating as the words came out of the speaker of Byron's phone. I looked at Byron with a pleading look, holding my breath as my eyes begged for acceptance and forgiveness.

He did not accept it, for the next words that left his mouth were, "My daughter was raped by her teacher."

**Hope you guys liked this and PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : violin27, seriously56, PrettyLittleBethany, The Unlucky 13, Anonymous, Fred, EzriaAddicted, StarWriter101, Madje Knotts, Noelle, Raphaelle, nightmares,and,dreamers, HarrylovesGinny09, lalala17, Misspperfect, bite-me-im-irish, Cate, SolitudeMyLove, crazyatbest, and EZRIALoVeforever12. **

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Aria's POV

"No! Stop!" I screamed as I ran to my father and frantically tried grabbing the phone from his hands.

"Aria stop acting like such a child!" Byron yelled at me, as he held the phone above my head out of my reach.

"I'll send two officers and they'll be on their way." I heard the woman on the other line say, before Byron hung up the phone.

"I can't believe you just did that." I said quietly, as I felt tears gathering up at the brim of my eyes. "Why the hell would you make assumptions like that and call the police on Ezra for something he _ didn't even do?" _I screamed furiously at my father, looking at him in pure hatred and disbelief.

"You didn't lose me when you made me keep your affair a secret. But this is too far. I am _ ashamed _ that _you_ are my father." I said icily.

I turned to Ezra because I could not bear to look at my father any longer. Ezra looked troubled, but he was acting as if he deserved this! Was he really just going to let my parents do whatever they wanted to do to him? Wasn't he going to stand up for us? For me?

"He raped you and took advantage of you! He deserves to go to jail! How could you not want him to go to jail? He fooled you that good? Do you think that he actually cares about you?" Byron cried out, pointing to Ezra.

"We haven't had sex!" I yelled loudly, as more tears cascaded down my face. "You would have realized that if you had let me explain! And yes, I believe him when he tells me he loves me!"

"I don't believe that. Ezra is twenty-two years old. He probably only got together with you for sex!" He fired back at me.

"Just because you were a teacher who had sex with your student, doesn't mean that _ every _teacher who dates someone who happens to be their student has the same motives as _you_!" I cried, as I angrily wiped away my tears with the back of my hand.

"Ella, why aren't you saying anything?" Byron abruptly turned to Ella, who was standing in the corner of the room with her arms folded across her chest. "You don't have a say in this?"

"I believe her." Ella said softly, as she walked over to us.

"You _ what?" _Byron asked, looking at her incredulously.

"I believe Aria." She repeated. "Byron, think about it. Do you really think Aria would date Ezra just for sex? And vise versa? Look at her. She's a mess." She gestured to me, referring to my mascara stained and tear stained cheeks. "If he wasn't important to her, then she wouldn't be trying so hard to get us to accept their relationship."

"Whatever. I already called the police. They'll be here soon and your ass will be in jail." Byron said furiously to Ezra.

"For _ what?" _I screamed. "He hasn't done anything wrong! He's not my teacher and I'm sixteen! Our relationship is completely legal!"

"Aria Montgomery. While you are living under my roof, you will obey my rules. You are not allowed to see Ezra anymore." Byron said sternly.

"Dad, please! Are you _ trying _to make my life miserable?" I cried out.

Byron looked at me wordlessly for a moment before nodding. "This family has gone through enough turmoil in the past few years. Do you think we _ really _need you to add any more?"

I broke out into another round of sobs at his words. "Please daddy. _ Please." _

"Too late. What's done is done." Byron said, before leaving the room without a second glance at any of us.

I broke down right then and there, but instead of crumbling onto the hard floor, my body was met with another one, whose arms wrapped tightly around my shaking figure.

"Ezra." I whispered, as I buried my face into his chest, soaking his shirt with my salty tears. "No." I gasped as I let out another loud sob and balled up the front of his shirt in my fist, afraid of letting him go.

"Aria." Ezra put both of his hands on either side of my face and forced me to look into his eyes. "Aria." He said again, as he wiped away some of my tears with his thumb. "Please. For me. Let him do what he needs to do."

I desperately shook my head and bit my bottom lip as tears continued to fall down my cheeks. "No…. No." I said in barely a whisper. This could not be happening. This had to be a dream. I could not lose Ezra. After everything we have been through, I could not lose him. Not again.

"Look at me." Ezra said, still holding my face between his hands, as we stared deeply into each other's eyes. "The person…" He took a deep breath as he tried to steady his own voice and keep it from breaking. "I am holding right now, is the most important person in my life. Do not forget that, Aria."

I whimpered in response, as I bowed my head, looking down. "Aria, look at me." He said to me, his voice strong but somehow still soft. I finally looked back up into his eyes to see his immense love for me reflected all over them. "I love you." He said to me, still staring into my eyes. "Don't look away. I'm right here." He brushed a piece of hair away from my cheek with his finger, as he continued holding my face between his hands. "It's just you and me. No one else matters."

"Ezra." I sobbed, as I shook my head.

"I know. I know. Just stay with me. It's just you and me. Just you and me." He said, staring deeply into my eyes, as if he was trying to memorize everything about me. As if this was the last time we would see each other. "Please, Aria."

I couldn't stand it anymore. I crushed my lips to his in a passion filled kiss, as my fingers desperately clutched at his body for dear life. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me impossibly close to him. He hoisted me upwards off the ground as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I gave his prodding tongue entrance into my mouth as I crushed my body as close as possible against his by locking my legs around his body. He cupped my face in his hands as he deepened the kiss, our tongues exploring each other's mouths.

"I know you two supposedly love each other," Ella began, "But right now, I see my daughter making out with her teacher, and… I'm cringing inside."

I quickly pulled away from Ezra. I felt my cheeks start to turn red in embarrassment; the way I was kissing Ezra was not exactly the smartest thing to do in front of my mother.

"Mr. Ezra Fitz, you're under arrest for the corruption and statutory rape of Miss Aria Montgomery. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court." A voice boomed throughout the room as the classroom door swung open.

"No." I whispered desperately, as I kept begging myself to wake up from this dreadful nightmare. However, I had to force myself to believe that this was reality when two Rosewood police officers entered the room.

They quickly made their way over to Ezra. As I saw that Ezra's eyes reflected hurt and fear, tears started falling down my face once again. I wanted to jump into his arms right then and there and tell him that everything was going to be all right… That my parents could not do anything to our relationship... That I would always love him… But I knew that doing that was not an option.

The tears in my eyes turned into full-blown sobs, as I watched my Ezra get handcuffed by the two police officers.

"Wait." Ella put her hand up, as the policeman with the badge that said _Luke_ began to push Ezra out of the room.

"What do you need Mrs. Montgomery?" The other officer asked, whose badge read _John_.

"This was blown way out of proportion. Ezra didn't rape anyone." She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

I stared at my mother as my tears began to slow. Did she actually just say what I think she said? Was she actually saving my relationship with Ezra?

The two policemen looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"I'm sorry we wasted your time, but Ezra hasn't done anything wrong." Ella said to the two men.

"We were told over the phone that he raped your daughter. Mrs. Montgomery, I hope you realize how important it is that you don't lie to us. Protecting Mr. Fitz is not going to benefit anyone. If anything, it will lead to more students getting raped, and rape is a very serious crime." Officer Luke said to us, and he continued holding Ezra's hands behind his back.

"We're lucky that Miss Montgomery was the only girl who was hurt by him. He could have gone after a huge number of girls, since he was once their teacher." Officer informed us.

"No." Ella repeated. "Ezra Fitz has not done anything wrong. He didn't rape anyone."

The two police officers studied Ella for a moment as they tried to decide whether or not she was lying.

After what seemed like an eternity, Officer Luke unhooked the handcuffs from Ezra's hands and let Ezra's hands drop back to his side. Ezra remained looking down, his face portraying no emotion.

"Well… if you _ do _find a reason to arrest this man, just give us a call." Officer John said, before he and Officer Luke left.

A heavy silence took over the room after the two officers left.

I was breathing heavily, looking back and forth between my mother and Ezra, still trying to comprehend everything that had just happened.

"Why did you do that?" Ezra finally asked Ella, breaking the silence.

"If you were willing to go to jail without a fight because of Aria, then she obviously means a lot to you. I don't want to see Aria get hurt like that, especially when she's been through so much already." Ella said softly, before giving Ezra a small, but genuine smile.

The door flung open to reveal Byron standing at the entrance, breathing heavily.

"What is that _monster_ still doing here? Why did the cops leave empty handed?" He demanded. I was honestly surprised that Ezra didn't flinch from the impact of Byron's glare on him; it looked like he wanted to murder Ezra.

"Byron, Ezra hasn't done anything wrong. Aria has reached the age of consent and Ezra isn't her teacher. And… I think he really does love her. Do you really think that he would willingly go to jail for Aria, if she meant nothing to him?"

"Ella, do you actually believe this?" He asked her in disbelief.

"Yes, I do. What are you trying to say, Byron? That Ezra can't love Aria but you can love Meredith?" Ella asked Byron angrily.

"I never loved Meredith. I had strong feelings for her but I didn't love her."

"Well they haven't had sex, so obviously it's more than a physical attraction that's kept them together for this long, even after everything they've been through." Ella defended us.

During Ella and Byron's argument, Ezra and I were slowly gravitating towards each other. We finally ended up standing next to the same desk.

I looked into his eyes, completely drowning out my parents' voices. I knew we were both thinking the same thing. First off, how thankful we were that my mom actually stood up for Ezra and I, and stopped Ezra from getting arrested. Second off, my parents both knew about my relationship with Ezra.

We were free. We could fully go public with our relationship and not worry about anyone catching us together.

I smiled at Ezra and he smiled back at me, conveying the exact same feelings as me.

"Byron, you can do whatever you want to Ezra when he hurts Aria, but for now, he's making her happy. _ When _was the last time you saw her smile like that?" Ella demanded, bringing me back to reality.

Byron opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the classroom door flung open again.

"_What _is going on here? Why are there police officers at my school?" The principal asked us all angrily. "And what are you doing here, Ezra?"

"I-" Ezra began, but was interrupted by my father.

"Ezra is dating my daughter." Byron said to the principal, angrily.

**I really liked this chapter, hope you guys did too! Please leave a review and let me know what you guys think! Don't forget to check out my other stories! I updated Late Nights today, too! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you soooo much for your reviews! : OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, KatyForYou, PrettyLittleBethany, violin27, sassymax, msbookworm93, bite-me-im-irish, StarWriter101, HarrylovesGinny09, SolitudeMyLove, The Unlucky 13, nightmares,and,dreamers, OldSoulXO, seriously56, and EzriaAddicted! You all are so sweet! Here's the next chapter! **

Aria's POV 

"You're _ what?" _The principal asked, looking at Ezra in disbelief.

Ezra glanced at me, before nodding. We both knew that there was no reason to lie anymore. And there was nothing that the principal could do, since Ezra no longer worked at Rosewood High School.

"H-how long has this been going on?" He asked incredulously, his eyes darting back and forth between Ezra and I.

"Months." Byron said bitterly.

"Was Mr. Fitz forcing you to be with him?" He sympathetically asked me.

I had to control the urge to explode right then and there. _Everyone _kept asking me that! Ezra was a good guy, so why did everyone think I was being forced to be with him? Didn't they know that I could stand up for myself? I had to admit that I was getting along pretty well for a girl who was in love with their ex-English teacher, had to keep a secret about her dad's affair from her mom, whose best friend was murdered, and who was being stalked by a malicious psychopath!

"No." I finally said, being as vague as possible.

He turned back to Ezra. "You were in a relationship with one of your _ students _while you worked here?"

Ezra and I remained silent. In addition to the fact that Byron and Ella were nodding their heads in affirmation behind us, the look on Ezra's face said it all.

"Why would you do that? And how did I not see this? Miss Montgomery, and Ezra, _what the hell were the two of you thinking?_"

Ezra and I shared a look before answering.

"I love him," I said simply.

At this statement, I saw my parents cringe from the corner of my eye.

"And I really don't care what you say about this anymore, because Ezra's not my teacher."

I saw Ezra's eyes widen at my words to the principal.

"Aria, don't talk to him like that!" Byron snapped at me. "Apologize!"

I took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do about us." I motioned between Ezra and I. There wasn't. Ezra was no longer my teacher, I was at the age of consent, from the looks of it, Ella didn't completely despise the fact that Ezra and I were together, and our relationship was legal.

"Ezra, I expected more from you." The principal shook his head at Ezra, disregarding me and looking at Ezra in disappointment.

Ezra remained silent at this, unsure of what to say.

"Just leave him alone." I sighed. "Please."

Everyone in the room, including Ezra, looked at me with wide eyes. "I'm sixteen, he's not my teacher, and there is nothing wrong with our relationship. Please, just leave Ezra alone. He's not doing anything wrong."

"Not doing anything wrong?" The principal cried out. "How could you say that Miss Montgomery? So what you're saying, is that in your eyes, it would be perfectly fine for every teacher in this school to be in a relationship with one of their students?" He looked at me in disbelief. "But you too Miss Montgomery, you don't seem like the type of girl to go after your teacher." He stated.

"I'm not." I responded, making sure not to break eye contact with the principal.

I was telling the truth, was I not? Ezra and I met before we knew what we really were to each other. If we had pursued a relationship with each other after finding out that we were teacher and student, well, that would have been a whole different story.

"You know what, I'm so sorry." Ella finally spoke up. "Byron and I are going to have to deal with Ezra and Aria's behavior on our own." She motioned between Byron and her. "I'm sorry that they would do something like this."

I watched my mom carefully as she spoke. Was she defending Ezra and I, or was she going to actually punish us?

The principal gave Ezra and I once last look before leaving the room.

I sat down on top of one of the desks in the classroom. This was all happening so fast. Everyone was finding out about my relationship with Ezra and they all had something bad to say about it! Why couldn't people just get over the fact that I was dating my ex-English teacher, no matter how much it bothered them, and get back to caring about only themselves again?

Ezra's POV 

"Thank you, Ella. For that." I said quietly.

She nodded at me, before turning back to Byron.

I knew that since the principal knew about me dating Aria, he would tell everyone else on the staff and school board…. So much for staying friends with my former co-workers. Then again, the only two people I really ever talked to while I worked here were Ella and Mrs. Welsh.

"Aria-" I began, as I took her hands in mine.

"I just…" She sighed, unable to find the words she wanted to use.

The door suddenly swung open and there stood Mona Vanderwaal.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

As soon as I realized that Mona had seen me holding Aria's hands, I immediately dropped them and folded my hands together in my lap.

Aria threw her a dirty look, before snapping at her, "Can you leave?"

"So it's true!" Mona gasped, putting her hand over her mouth and looking at Aria and I in surprise. "You naughty girl!"

"Mona stop." I said quietly.

"_No wonder _you loved English class so much! You were secretly screwing the teacher!" She then turned to me. "And Mr. Fitz." She shook her head. "Who would have known that you liked younger girls?"

I had to resist the urge to just smack her right then and there.

"I would have let you know that I was available!" She winked at me.

Aria on the other hand, was unable to resist her urge, for not a moment later, Aria's palm swiftly met Mona's cheek, and Mona was holding her cheek in pain.

I looked at Aria, surprised by her action. Byron and Ella had their mouths slightly agape as they watched their teenage daughter in shock.

"You're a teacher, aren't you going to do something about this?" Mona cried out at me.

I tried to give her a sympathetic look in order to cover up the smile that was slowly forming on my face.

"Aria, what has gotten into you?" Byron finally exclaimed, looking at Aria in disbelief.

Mona glared at Aria, before stomping out of the room.

Aria then turned to her parents. "Can we just go home, please? I've already missed Chem, so there's no point in being here anymore."

Ella let out a huge sigh, before finally responding. "Yeah." She then turned to me. "But we're not done talking about this."

"Bye," Aria said quietly to me, before giving me a quick kiss. It was a little awkward, since both of Aria's parents were standing right there, but Aria obviously did not care.

I gave her a small smile as she followed her parents out of the room.

I had to applaud Aria for her courage in slapping Mona. I knew that Aria never liked Mona, and that Mona annoyed the crap out of her, but I never thought that the day would come where Aria would slap a girl, let alone that girl being Mona.

I shook my head. My life was unbelievable.

**Not one of my best or my favorites, sorry! I kind of had major writer's block for this one, but I was desperate to give you guys a new chapter! Let me know what you thought, and please review! Don't forget to check out my other stories too, I updated Late Night's yesterday and I just started a new Ezria one called "The Hardest Part." **

**Who else do you guys want to find out about their relationship? Let me know because I'm running out of idea's and ****REVIEW PLEASE! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : msbookworm93, HarrylovesGinny09, EzriaAddicted, The Unlucky 13, SolitudeMyLove, bite-me-im-irish, and nightmares,and,dreamers! **

Aria's POV

I set my pen down next to my notebook as I sat up on my bed. The past two weeks had been so crazy. My parents were finally getting over the initial shock that had come with Ezra and I dating, and thankfully, they were beginning to warm up to the idea of us together. Mike, although angry at first, quickly came around to me being with Ezra. He had found out during school right after the picture of Ezra and I kissing had gone around, and he had cornered me not long after Ezra and I finished talking to my parents. As for everyone at school, my relationship with Ezra was a thing of the past. Every day some new dramatic event happened, causing the gossip about my relationship with Ezra to become less and less interesting.

"Aria!" I heard Ella call from downstairs.

I closed my notebook as I jumped off of my bed and walked down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

Ella looked up from the book in her hands. "Can you do me a favor and call Ezra? Tell him we want to invite his family and him over for dinner tomorrow."

"Why?" I asked, looking at her in surprise.

"Because," She sighed, not wanting to explain herself, "he's your boyfriend and we want to meet his family. Just because Ezra's older than you doesn't mean that we wouldn't want to meet them."

I looked at her skeptically. "I've never met them. I don't even know if they live in Rosewood!"

"Well, call him and find out!" She laughed, before turning back to her book.

I shrugged as I mumbled okay, before heading back to my room to get my phone. I picked it up from beside my notebook, before dialing the oh-so-familiar digits.

I waited impatiently as my phone processed the number. However, instead of a ring tone greeting my ears, I was met with Ezra's voicemail.

"_Hey, this is Ezra, you know what to do." _

I hung up the phone, before jumping off my bed and grabbing my purse, swinging it over my shoulder.

I shook my head and let out a quiet laugh. Knowing Ezra, he probably lost his phone and it died from being out of the charger for so long.

"Mom, I'm going to Ezra's!" I called, as I headed towards the front door.

"Wait, Aria," My mom emerged from the kitchen. "What did he say?"

I readjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder. "Didn't answer. Knowing him, his phone's probably dead. I'm just going to go over there and talk to him."

She nodded at me, before heading back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of the door to Ezra's apartment. I raised my hand up and knocked on the door.

The door swung open a second later to reveal a very shirtless Ezra standing at its entrance. **(yum!) **

"Aria!" He exclaimed, giving me a huge smile. He leaned down to give me a kiss, before ushering me into the apartment.

"Let me just grab… a shirt." He mumbled, before disappearing into his bedroom.

I set my bag down on the table near the door before sitting down on the edge of the couch.

Ezra emerged from his room a moment later wearing khaki shorts and a tee shirt.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" I asked curiously as he sat down beside me.

"Oh, it's dead. I kind of… forgot to charge it last night. I was so tired after grading papers all night." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, a nervous habit of his.

"Well," I began, unsure of how to explain my mothers' plans in an unsurprising way. "Ella wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow… With your family."

His eyes widened at my last three words. "What? Really?"

I nodded.

"Any particular reason why?" He asked skeptically.

"Her exact words? 'He's you boyfriend and we want to meet his family.' " I said, trying to contain my laughter.

"Wow," He chuckled. "Well, my brother, sister-in-law, and their son live in Virginia, so they wouldn't be able to come. And my parents both live in New York. It's a little less than four hours of a drive from there to get here, but I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."

"I'll let my mom know." I smiled.

"Aria…" Ezra suddenly said unsurely. "My parents don't know about you."

I looked back up at him. What if they did not like me? What if they judged me because I was younger than Ezra? What if they did not accept us as a couple? Ezra and I have already endured more than enough people who do not like us being together, but those were all people whose opinions really did not matter. In reality, I should not have worried about anyone else's view on my relationship with Ezra except our families!

"Ezra, what if they don't like me?" I asked, looking at him with a nervous expression on my face.

He immediately pulled me into his arms, hugging my body close against his chest. "They'll love you." He murmured into my hair. "Who wouldn't?"

I kissed his lips in response, before settling back into his arms.

...PLL…

"Aria, do you need help?" My mom appeared at the doorway to my room, as I watched myself in the mirror, struggling to fully zip up the zipper in the back of my dress.

Ella chuckled as she walked over to me and in one swift motion fully zipped up the purple dress.

"Thanks," I gave her a small smile, before turning to my closet in search for a matching pair of shoes.

"So, are you okay with this dinner?" Ella tilted her head a little to the right, as she watched me.

I slid on a pair of heels before turning back to her. "Y-yeah. Why?"

"Because it was sudden… and-" She began.

"Just a little," I muttered under my breath as I walked over to my jewelry box in search for a pair of earrings.

"Aria, I know, but we just want to meet his parents."

"It could've waited though." I picked up a pair of earrings that matched my dress and put them on.

"Why wait?"

"Because," I sighed, "Ezra's parents don't know that he has a girlfriend. Nor the fact that she's younger than him, or that she used to be his student."

I folded my arms across my chest as I leaned against the wall next to my closet.

Ella sighed before coming over to me. "I'm sure they'll like you honey. Who wouldn't?" She smiled, saying the same reassuring words Ezra had used, before walking out of the room.

I heard my phone ringing from on top of my bed. I grabbed it off of the comforter, before glancing at the caller ID: Ezra. I quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Aria, how are you?" Ezra asked.

"Fine, just… getting ready. You?"

"Yeah, same. I'm going to pick up my parents from their hotel and then come to your house in about an hour, okay?"

"Sure, that's great."

"I'll see you soon, love you."

"You too," I said, before hanging up.

I turned back to my mirror, taking another look at myself. I grabbed my mascara and started applying some to my lashes, before adding eyeliner and eye shadow to match my dress.

When I was done getting ready, I grabbed my phone and made my way down stairs. Entering the kitchen, I saw my mom cutting up some lettuce for a salad.

"Honey, would you put the bread on the table?" She looked up from the cutting board.

I grabbed the breadbasket and placed it on the dining room table. I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed plates, forks, and spoons, before entering the dining room once again and setting the table.

As I set the last plate down, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I yelled.

I straightened out my dress and took a deep breath, before opening the big glass door.

Standing before me, was Ezra, wearing a navy suit, with a smile on his face. Beside him on either side, stood a man and a woman, who I assumed to be his parents.

"Hello." I greeted them all, ushering them to step in.

Ella appeared behind me a moment later with Byron not far in tow.

"I'm so glad you all could make it." Ella smiled.

I closed the door behind them all and snuck a glance at Ezra, who met my glance at the same time. Discreetly, he slowly inched his way closer to me, so that we were standing somewhat closer to each other.

"I'm Ella, and this is my husband Byron." Ella introduced herself.

Byron shook hands with Ezra's parents.

"Sarah Fitz," Ezra's mother smiled at my family.

"William." Ezra's father shook hands with my mom, before turning to me.

I noticed Ezra's mother's eyes searching around what she could see of the house.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

"Honey, where's your older sister, Aria?" She asked me.

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. I looked at Ezra, confusion written all over my face. I heard my mom let out a small chuckle at Sarah's question.

"Um, mom. T-this is Aria. My… girlfriend." Ezra said uneasily, as he took my hand in his.

"Oh!" Sarah exclaimed, putting a hand over her mouth. Her face began to turn slightly red.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen? I'm almost done making dinner." Ella suggested, watching Byron and William who were already in deep conversation and slowly making their way towards the living room.

I shot her a thankful glance, and she gave me a smile in response.

Ezra and I followed our mothers into the kitchen, our hands still interlocked together.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe my mom asked you that." Ezra muttered quietly into my ear.

"How come I _can?" _ I asked him.

"Hey, don't let it get to you. She was just surprised." He said gently.

"It's fine." I nodded, dismissing the action.

We entered the kitchen to see Ella and Sarah already laughing with each other. I smiled, enjoying the scene. I could not express the amount of happiness I felt because our families got along so well.

"Yeah, that he is." Ella laughed as she poured the sauce over the pasta into a bowl.

"Oh!" Sarah smiled. "And there they are."

I smiled at her.

"Where's Mike?" Ezra suddenly asked me.

"Uh, I think he's at a friend's house. He didn't want to have to sit through this dinner."

"Ah," Ezra nodded in understanding.

Of course Mike would not have wanted to stay for dinner. It was awkward enough that his older sister was dating their former English teacher, but to have to sit through a whole dinner with him and his family, probably would have been a nightmare for Mike.

"Aria, Ezra, come and eat, the food's ready." My mom said as she picked up the bowl filled with pasta from the table and led us into the dining room.

I sat down on the right side of the table and Ezra sat down beside me. Our fathers were at either end of the table, and our mothers were across from us, sitting side by side.

"This all looks delicious Ella." Ezra's father said with a smile on his face.

After all the food was served, the conversation Ezra and I knew was coming, finally began.

"So, Aria, you look young, how old are you?" Ella's mother asked me.

Ezra and I shared a glance, before Ezra grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed it reassuringly, as the whole table waited for me to answer.

"Uh, I-I'm sixteen." I said quietly, looking down.

"Sorry, hun, I don't think I heard you right. Can you repeat that?" Ezra's mother asked again.

"Sixteen." I said louder, not breaking eye contact with Sarah.

Both of Ezra's parents' gazes shifted off of me, and to Ezra.

"You're dating a sixteen year old?" The fork and knife in William's hand made a loud clatter as they fell from his hands and hit the table loudly. Both of Ezra's parents looked at Ezra in disbelief. Ezra and I were sitting close enough to each other that I could feel him tense up beside me at his father's question. _"What the hell are you thinking?"_

**Hope you guys like this chapter so far, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : tickledpink92, prettylittleliarslover, KatyForYou, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, violin27, HarrylovesGinny09, PrettyLittleBethany, bite-me-im-irish, HandswithRoses, SolitudeMyLove, Anonymous, Danielle, crazyatbest, nightmares,and,dreamers, and EzriaAddicted! **

_"You're dating a sixteen year old?" The fork and knife in William's hand made a loud clatter as they fell from his hands and hit the table loudly. Both of Ezra's parents looked at Ezra in disbelief. Ezra and I were sitting close enough to each other that I could feel him tense up beside me at his father's question. __"What the hell are you thinking?"_

Ezra's POV 

"I'm thinking, that I'm in love with her." I quickly shot back at my parents, as I gently set my silverware down onto my plate.

"I'm in love with him too." Aria quickly added. I felt her squeeze my hand under the table, a silent way of assuring me that no matter what happened, her feelings for me were not going to change.

"She's _ sixteen _years old." My father seethed. "She's the same age as the students you used to teach!"

At this statement, Ella, Byron, Aria, and I, remained silent. Ella and Byron exchanged an uncomfortable glance with each other that did not go unnoticed by my mother.

"Wait. You _are not _going to tell me that she used to be your student."

I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond. I knew that if I lied to them, Aria's parents would probably tell my parents the truth. However, if I admitted the truth, my parents would be even angrier with me than they already were.

"I can't believe this." Sarah whispered to herself, looking at me in disbelief.

"What happened to you, Ezra? Did Jackie break your heart so badly that you had to go after one of your students to feel better?" William cried out.

"What? No, Dad, it's not like that!" I responded defensively. "I met Aria before the school year started!"

"And you thought what? That it was completely okay for you to go break the law? To date your student?" He yelled. "Didn't we raise you better than that?"

A pang of guilt washed through me as he spoke those words. I could not ignore the disappointment apparent in both my parents' eyes and for a short moment, I actually felt bad about what I had done. I had gone against everything they had taught me. No parents would want their child to grow up and become a teacher, only to end up falling in love with a student!

After the moment quickly passed, I saw Aria sitting beside me from the corner of my eye, and I realized that I was wrong.

What I had done was not a mistake! Aria and I were in love and we were meant to be together! Just the fact that we have made it through everything we have been through proves it! No matter what anyone else thought or said. Even if my parents did not approve of our decision to be together now, they had to accept us eventually, right? Ella and Byron were furious at first, but look at us now! We were all having dinner together!

"It's not wrong anymore. Our relationship is legal." I muttered back at him through gritted teeth.

My parents remained quiet. I looked at my mother, who was watching me with extreme disappointment etched all over her features.

"Mom… I'm sorry." I whispered, not taking my eyes off of her heartbroken face. "I just… I really love her. And… we tried to stay apart, we really did! We just…" I looked down and closed my eyes for a moment, before opening them and facing my mother again. "We just couldn't."

"And you're okay with this?" My dad angrily asked Ella and Byron. "You don't care that my son took advantage of your daughter?"

I heard Aria gasp beside me. I squeezed her hand in response, urging her to remain quiet.

"Ezra never took advantage of Aria. Aria has made that very clear to us." Ella nodded, as she gave me a small smile.

"Why would you do something so stupid?" My dad asked me, as he tried to steady his ragged breath.

Everything had quickly come tumbling down, and I could not do anything about it. I did not think my parents would be this angry at Aria and I. I expected them to understand!

"Do you think I wanted this to happen? Do you think I planned this?" I asked him incredulously. "I never decided one day that I wanted to date one of my students! I met an amazing woman one day in the summer, and we connected so well that it would have been stupid not to act on that connection. We just ended up in a bad situation. If Aria hadn't been my student, I doubt we would have ever seen each other again."

"I liked Jackie better." William muttered under his breath. "She wasn't your _student." _He spat.

"You know what? It's not your decision to who I can and can't date! Jackie and I never had what Aria and I have!" Ezra looked at him in disbelief.

"You almost married Jackie!" William shot back.

"Which would have been the biggest mistake of my life." I quickly responded.

My mother sucked in a breath at this statement. I knew she had seen Jackie as her own daughter while we were together.

"Look at her! She's a little kid! How do you feel knowing that you've been kissing a little girl who was your student?" William asked me angrily.

At this point, I looked over to Aria, who had tears forming in her eyes. Before I could respond, she jumped up from the table and ran from the room.

"Thanks for that. A lot." I glared at him. "And just for your information, when I see Aria, I don't see my student, I see the woman I'm in love with." I answered quickly, before chasing after Aria.

I quickly ran up the stairs and stopped in front of Aria's room. I could hear her sobbing softly on the other side. I slowly opened the door to find Aria sitting on the bed with her head buried in her hands.

"Aria…" I said quietly.

She lifted her head from her hands at the sound of my voice, revealing her puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"They hate me." She whispered, her voice cracking.

"No, no." I assured her. "They're mad at me. Not you."

As she shook her head in response, I made my way over to her and sat down beside her, taking her in my arms. She quickly buried her head in my chest as I held her body close against mine.

"They'll come around." I said as I held her in my arms. "Don't worry."

"What if they don't?" She sniffled, looking up into my eyes.

"Hey," I gave her a small smile. "Remember how your parents reacted to us at first? Now look at us! They'll come around."

She smiled as she gazed at me, never letting her eyes leave mine.

She was so beautiful, even when she was crying. I loved her so much, and nothing anyone ever said would ever change that. Even though it had been hard revealing our relationship to the town, it was such a relief that we no longer had to hide the fact that we were in love.

"I love you." She whispered to me, before pressing her lips against mine.

I immediately kissed her back, as I tangled my fingers in her hair. The passion and love that erupted throughout us when we were together was what love was. What Aria and I had was love. Real, passionate, pure, love.

_Fin_

**Anyone else stoked for the five seconds of Ian Harding tonight? I know I am! Thank you so much to everyone who was stayed with me during this story! Coming Out definitely had my favorite Ella and Byron reactions out of all my stories! I hope you guys enjoyed this story, and don't forget to check out my other ones! Since this is the last chapter, I would absolutely adore all of you if everyone who's reading, reviews! Thanks again, and PLEASE REVIEW! **


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